Song for Last years wife- essay
Explore how the writer of one of your choice from the relationship collections presents different ideas about relationships from those given in ‘song for last year’s wife’ The poem by Brian Pattern presents thoughts of a man who misses his wife. The man In the poem Is directly talking to his wife which plays a role in the structure of the poem. On the contrary, ‘One Flesh’ by Elizabeth Jennings explores the effect of long term relationships as the poem Is written about her parents, therefore It Is quite personal.
Both poems have two very different themes within the main theme of legislations, for instance, ‘One Flesh’ looks at the process of long term relationships and ‘Song for last year’s wife’ stud’s the theme of pain when relationships breakdown. Both titles of the poem have some sort of connotation behind it. One flesh is mentioned in the Bible as it refers to two people becoming one after marriage and meant to be in unity, however, the poem contradicts the title as it depicts how they are separated from each other even though they are still married.
On the other hand, ‘song for last year’s wife’ alludes to the fact he has another wife but makes the read want to read on to find out what has happened to her. Subsequently, presenting different Ideas about relationship, their structures both vary to fit the Idea and perspective. The rhyme scheme of One Flesh Is A, B, A, B, A, A In the first two stanzas but the last stanza does not have a rhyming couplet as these two who are my has now grown cold’ shows that there was a strong relationship at the start but broke down and has shattered.
Perhaps, the effect of having a rhyming couplet at the end of the first two stanzas and not the last one is that the relationship has reached a level where there isn’t any hope for their love for each other but Just they have to be together for their daughter’s sake. On the other hand, Pattern does not use a rhyme scheme as the man is talking to his wife and you wouldn’t necessary talk in rhyme therefore it is more natural. Both poems use the poetic device of metaphor but in different ways to fit the theme of the poem.
The metaphor in song for last year’s wife ‘perhaps It Is the winter, its Isolations ghost to witness’ conveys a absence of his wife with the reference to a ‘ghost’ which suggests that something still haunts him and memories of her still come to him. Whereas, Jennings uses a metaphor to show how the couple’s relationship was strong and stable at the start room whose fire from I came from, has now grown cold’. This shows that their relationship was full of passion and fun but slowly drowned out to nothing but separation.
Here, images of heat and cold are used to reinforce how their passion is dying. Moreover, when Patter uses a alliteration at the start of the poem ‘of waking without you’ the emphasis of without increases due to the consonant being sharp so we know how hurt he is feeling without his wife which leads on the tension of what has happened to her. Similarly, the use of alliteration when saying ‘light on late’ tresses how the light Is kept on and makes us as the reader wonder why it I left on late that also add a level of apprehension towards the poem.
To conclude, ‘One Flesh’ and ‘Song for Last Year’s Wife’ both present their Ideas In different ways to emphasis the certain aspect of relationships they are trying to portray. Jennings uses the structure mostly to support how the couple’s relationship is unstable whereas absence of his wife. Both poets use connotations to expand on their ideas which draw the reader in therefore, becoming a more precise poem in terms of being articulate towards the theme that is being represented.
